[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – A 50-year-old woman was found guilty of willfully causing serious harm to her boyfriend, whom she suspected of cheating on her, by pouring boiling water over his groin while he was sleeping.
His actions left him hospitalized for 26 days and unable to work for about six months. He suffered second and third degree burns to more than 12 percent of his total body surface area.
The court rejected Zareena Begun PAM Basheer Ahamed’s defense that it was an accident and convicted her on Monday (September 28).
In their filings, Deputy Prosecutor Ng Jun Chong said the couple began their relationship in 2006. Over the course of their tumultuous relationship, they separated several times, each accusing the other of cheating.
On January 12, 2017, Zareena spotted her boyfriend at the HarbourFront Center ferry terminal with a woman with whom, since 2015, she suspected he was having an affair.
In the early morning of July 5 of that year, Zareena pulled her boyfriend’s mobile phone out of her bag while he slept in their living room after dinner. She read the messages the other woman had sent her and “was furious,” DPP Ng said.
“She wanted to teach him a lesson for letting her down over and over again. She wanted to teach him a lesson that he would never forget,” DPP Ng presented.
The DPP later argued that Zareena boiled water and poured a cup into her boyfriend’s pants, over the groin area.
The man woke up in extreme pain and asked Zareena why she was doing this to him, to which she replied “I serve you well.”
Zareena’s attorney, however, argued that the entire incident was an accident.
According to her, on July 5, she woke him up and asked him to check his phone, which led to an argument between the two.
After this, he claimed, she boiled water to drink and he followed her into the kitchen and sat on a pile of stools.
While holding a cup of hot water, the man tugged on his left arm, causing the water to spill over his groin, he said.
However, the victim’s treating physician, Dr. Chew Khong Yik, said his burns suggested he was lying down when hot water was poured on him. Called as a witness, Dr. Chew said there were sudden splash injuries to the upper torso and none to the knees, calves, feet and toes, which would have been expected if he were sitting upright.
In addition, he had a burn on his left buttock, consistent with water flowing from his groin.
DPP Ng said it was the hospital that reported the matter to the police and that the man never made a police report against Zareena.
Zareena is expected to be sentenced on October 20.
A person convicted of willfully causing serious harm faces a prison sentence for life or up to 15 years, and a fine or beating. As a woman, Zareena will not be spanked.
[ad_2]
